The present invention relates to a new and improved method of, and apparatus for, equipping profiles or sectional shapes formed of elastic masses, such as typically for instance rubber, with a support or covering of velour bands in one working operation. In the context of this disclosure there is to be understood under the expression "velour bands" or equivalent terminology, all elongate carriers or supports of fibers or the like which are similar in form to velour bands.
Sealing profiles formed of plastic masses, such as for instance rubber, are predominantly employed in the automotive industry, and specifically are utilized as so-called channel profiles.
Such profiles or sectional shapes usually are present in the form of a substantially U-shaped member arranged within a metallic rail, and internally of the U-portion of such member a glass pane or window can travel up and down. On the one hand, such profile serves for sealing against undesirable entry of water and, on the other hand, it serves the purposes of protecting the glass and of excluding disturbing noises.
Between the rubber and the glass there must be provided a layer having good sliding properties, since if there is direct contact with the rubber, when in a dry state, there exists too great adhesion, and the window pane can only be moved with the application of a large force.
Approximately fifteen years ago these profiles were fabricated in a manner such that the actual rubber profile was extruded and thereafter there was manually adhesively bonded the velour bands or the like. However, with present day labor costs such fabrication technique has become much too costly.
Attempts have been made to find another solution and there was found a so-called flocking technique. During flocking the profile which previously has been separately extruded from rubber is coated or sprayed in a special throughpass chamber or compartment with an adhesive solution, after which it travels continuously through a tunnel where the small velour fibers are electro-statically emplaced in the form of individual threads of about 1.5 to 2.5 millimeters length and perpendicularly anchored in the adhesive solution. A heating operation then ensures the drying and vulcanization of the adhesive solution, which likewise is carried out in a continuous throughpass operation.
Although in the early stages this fabrication technique was not accepted by the automobile manufacturers, because the anchoring of the velour fibers or threads was not satisfactory, nonetheless after a number of years the automobile industry decided to adopt the flocked profiles or sectional shapes, particularly since with time there could be discovered better adhesive solutions.
The reason for this change to flocked profiles predominantly was the question of costs. Even today the automobile factories would still prefer to use the prior fabricated profiles or sectional shapes which were manually equipped with the velour bands, and specifically for the following reasons:
Due to the numerous up-and-down movements of the side windows of automobiles, the velour bands become worn with time, giving rise to direct contact between the glass of the window pane and the rubber. Consequently, after a certain amount of time the window panes become increasingly difficult to move, because of the direct contact of the window pane glass with the rubber and the resultant adhesion. In fact, it has been found that with time the window panes even become jammed and cannot be moved at all. When using the earlier fabricated profiles or sectional shapes which employed fabricated velour bands, composed of a woven substrate band having woven therein the velour fibers, even after the natural wearing away of the velvet-like velour bristles or fibers a direct contact with the rubber could nonetheless be avoided. Since the fabric band has an appreciably greater wear resistance than the free velour bristles or fibers, there was insured a much longer longevity of the profile and easy motion of the window panes.